Where Is My Hope?
2022 has abruptly thrown us into despair. It seems like everyone I talk to is having a rough time right now with death, sickness, sadness, reality of evil in the world, and difficult decisions.
I sat down one day with a heavy heart as I looked up scriptures that included the word “hope.” I was looking for something to combat all this despair. Psalm 43 stood out to me. Verse 2 cut me to the bone, “For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?” I’m seeking God’s refuge, but my despair keeps pulling me into the pits where I can’t feel God’s presence. My mind stays on those who are sick and in grief, the fellowship I am missing at this moment due to Covid, the eerie feeling of violation the evil of the world puts on you, and the pull of wanting more than this world has to offer me.
Then the psalmist asks the question, “Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
Amen!
Why am I allowing the enemy to steal my hope and my joy? My hope comes from Christ and my faith is in Christ. You cannot have hope without faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
John Piper puts it this way, “Christian hope is a confidence that something will come to pass because God has promised it will come to pass.”
In the Old Testament, the word hope is used two ways. The first is yachal and it means to wait or to be patient. This is associated with us patiently waiting on God’s word, promises, or actions. The second way it is used is Tiqvah, meaning cord or attachment. The root word is qav and Qavah is a feeling of tension and expectation while waiting for something to happen, like to pull a cord tight to produce a state of tension. When I read this, I can’t help but picture my hope as a cord that is binding me to God. Sometimes the cord is loose and my relationship is close to Jesus, and other times the cord is taut and I’m struggling to hang on; but the cord is unbreakable so I will never come unattached to Him. My hope binds me to Christ forever and cannot be broken, stolen, or die.
In the New Testament, the word hope is from the Greek word elpis, which means expectation, trust, confidence. The root word elpo, means to anticipate (with pleasure) and to welcome. We are looking forward to the future, the promise of Jesus saving His people from this fallen world and restoring His creation to its perfect state. We are anticipating Jesus’ justice, mercy, and victory.
When we feel like the world is falling around us, it’s easy for us to lose sight of that hope. In our minds, we know that we have hope because of Jesus. But do our hearts always feel that? Having hope takes practice. Hope does not just appear in front of us each morning, we must seek it out and welcome it into our hearts, thoughts, and actions. This has been hard for me the past few weeks. I wake up each morning with the same thoughts, the same schedule, the same disappointment, and the same everyday same.
That is my fault. Having hope is a choice and I have neglected to choose it each morning. It is time to start practicing hope. You might ask, “How does one go about practicing hope?” Here are a few tips I use to practice hope and find joy.
Begin each morning with prayer. This sounds so simple, but it isn’t. Life gets in the way. I started a few months ago writing my prayers down in the morning after the kids leave for school. I’m finding here lately that I need to say a quick prayer before my feet even hit the floor. I need to ask God to fill me with hope before my thoughts start to go to the negative.
Remember the good God has done for you. When we focus on how God has blessed us and thank Him for His goodness, our thoughts turn towards positive instead of negative. We see the beauty instead of the brokenness.
Remember the daughter God created you to be. Our Creator made us for a specific purpose. When we remember we were made for a reason, we can look at our circumstances differently. We can focus on what we are to learn from them instead of why they are happening to us. God created you and loves you for who you are, no matter what you are going through.
Rely on others. We are not meant to go through this life alone. God has placed loving people in our paths that we can lean on in difficult times. Pick up the phone to call them and share your feelings. Be involved in your home church. If you do not feel comfortable attending church right now, at least reach out to your pastor, women’s director, youth pastor, our community group leader. I’m sure they can empathize with how you are feeling. They may even need to lean on you a little. We need each other. If you find this difficult, spend some time in prayer asking God who you should talk to. He will lead you to a brother or sister in Christ.
Read and study your Bible. We have access to a step-by-step manual for joyful living. Take advantage of God’s Word. He wrote it specifically for you and He is eager for you benefit from its guidance, comfort, and hope.
When the world brings us down, we have to rely on the hope that binds us to our Father. He protects us, fulfills our needs, cares for us, and comforts us regardless of what the world lays in front of us. When we ask ourselves, “Why am I downcast and disturbed?” we can remember the truth that we don’t have to be that way. We have a choice to practice hope or to wallow in our own self-pity and the world’s despair. God wants His people to live filled with peace, joy, hope, and love. Put your hope in God, our Savior.
Digging Deeper:
What sucks the joy and hope out of me?
What area of my life do I need to welcome hope into?
How do I need to practice hopeful living?